100 MW of utility-scale solar power plants are reportedly headed to Indonesia courtesy First Solar, a leading solar product company based out of the US, and PT. Pembangkitan Jawa Bali Services (PJB Services), an Indonesia company. An MOU was signed this week by the two companies.
First Solar thin-film solar photovoltaic modules in a ground-mounted solar power plant. (Photo: Business Wire)
“Indonesia has an increasingly urgent need for reliable, cost-effective energy resources. The agreement with PJB Services facilitates an ideal collaboration to provideIndonesia with the needed solution,” said Won Park, First Solar’s Senior Manager of Business Development and Sales in Southeast Asia. “This MOU underscores First Solar’s belief that the Indonesian market has great potential as a sustainable market where solar power can be a meaningful part of the energy mix.”
This is First Solar’s first step into Indonesia, but it’s not at all surprising. With conventional solar PV prices at record low levels, First Solar’s thin film solar cells (which have low prices but also lower efficiency) are getting priced out of numerous more developed markets. It’s been clear for awhile that thin film solar companies would need to work their way into developing solar markets in order to succeed.
This is also a first for PJB Services. It’s the company’s first utility-scale solar effort.
You can find more info on this new solar power partnership from the First Solar news release.